Portsmouth goalkeeper David James has secured a
Barclays Merit Award after setting a new Premier League appearance
record.
The England international made his 536th appearance in Pompey's
2-0 victory over Manchester City last Saturday to surpass Gary
Speed's tally.
James has made at least 14 appearances in every season since the
inception of the Premier League in 1992.
The former Watford shot-stopper made his Liverpool debut on the
opening weekend of the new-look top-flight in August 1992 and went
on to make 215 appearances for the Anfield outfit before joining
Aston Villa.
James made 67 Premier League outings for the Midlands club
before joining West Ham in July 2001 and racking up a further 63
top-flight appearances.
After a brief spell in the Championship with the
Hammers, the giant goalkeeper returned to the highest level of
English club football with Manchester City.
After 93 league displays for the Blues he headed for the South
Coast to join Portsmouth in August 2006 where he has, to date, made
98 appearances.
James said: "To reach this landmark is a huge personal
achievement and hopefully I can keep going for a while yet.
"I am very proud to receive this merit award from Barclays in
recognition for all the hard work I've put in over the past 17
years."